Teen, adolescent, juvenile, teenager, young adult

Teen 通常以複數型態出現,指的是 13 至 19 歲以及這年齡層的青少年。例如:She’s in her late teens. (她大約 17 至 19 歲);The room was full of gangling teens. (這房間都是 13 至 19 歲、身材瘦長的年輕人)。Teenager 指的也是同一年齡層的年輕人。

Adolescent 大體上也是指這年齡層的青少年,或許可以較不明確地定義為「幼年時期和成年之間的」青春期少年。Young adult 可能是用來指剛過青春期但還差一點就要邁入成年的人的委婉語或另一名稱;在出版業,它是指年齡在 13 至 17 歲左右的讀者。Juvenile – 尤其從法律的觀點來看 – 是指心智尚未成熟、不應承擔和成年人一樣之責任的少年、小孩。

上述這些名詞都是標準英語,不過意為「13 至 19 歲青少年」的 teen(s) 可能被一些人視為非正式用字,所以比較少用在正式英語中;然而,意為「13 至 19 歲年齡層」的 teens 則是道道地地的標準用字。

Hindrance, hinderance

Hindrance (僅兩個音節) 為現今絕大部分人使用的標準拼法,而 hinderance (三個音節) 越來越罕見,且大多數的桌上型字典 (desk dictionaries) 都不再將之列為 hindrance 的變體。Hindrance 意為「妨礙,障礙,阻礙;障礙物,阻礙物」,其後通常接介系詞 to 或 in:His stutter was only a mild hindrance to [in] his public speaking. (他的結巴僅為他的演說造成輕微的障礙);This delay has caused some hindrance to [in] my plans. (這一耽擱已對我的計劃造成妨礙)。不過,它偶爾接 of:No arthritic hindrance of movement was going to keep him idle. (關節炎造成的行動不便並不會使他閒下來)。

Included, including 和 inclusive (of)

Included 是形容詞,意為「包括在內的;被包括的」,用在名詞和代名詞之後。例如:All of us, me included, are teachers. (包括我在內,我們都是老師)。

Including 是介系詞,意為「(其中) 包括」,用在名詞和代名詞之前。例如:All of us are teachers, including me. (包括我在內,我們都是老師/我們都是老師,其中包括我在內);I’m ordering some extra office equipment, including a new printer. (我即將訂購一些額外的辦公室設備,包括一台新的印表機)。

Inclusive 是形容詞,意為「包括在內的」,用在名詞和代名詞之後。例如:The rent is NTD 6,000 inclusive. (包括水電等一切費用在內,房租為台幣6000元)。Inclusive 後面常接 of,此時其用法與 including 等量齊觀。例如:All of us are teachers, including me. = All of us are teachers, inclusive of me.

值得注意的是,在英式英語中,inclusive 經常被用來表示「所有數目或首末兩日包括在內的」意思,如 Monday to Friday inclusive (從星期一到星期五,首尾兩天 — 即星期一和星期五 — 包括在內),但美式英語則使用 through 來表達 inclusive 的意思,如 Monday through Friday (從星期一到星期五,首尾兩天 — 即星期一和星期五 — 包括在內)。

Included, including 和 inclusive (of) 的相反詞分別為 excluded, excluding 和 exclusive (of),用法相同,只是意思變成相反的「除…之外;不包括」。再舉數例來說明它們的用法 (請注意它們在句中的位置):

All on the plane were lost, including the crew. (包括機組人員在內,機上所有人都失蹤了)
= All on the plane were lost, the crew included.
= All on the plane were lost, inclusive of the crew.
= Including the crew, all on the plane were lost.

The hotel charges $5,000 a day, excluding meals. (這家飯店一天索費5000元,其中並不包括三餐)
= The hotel charges $5,000 a day, meals excluded.
= The hotel charges $5,000 a day, exclusive of meals.

All of us, me included, were invited. (包括我在內,我們所有人都受到邀請)
= All of us, including me, were invited.
= They invited all of us, inclusive of me.

The rent is $10,000 inclusive. (包括一切費用在內,房租為10000元)
= The rent is $10,000 inclusive of everything.

bum, butt, buttocks, bottom, backside 都是屁股

在英國「每日鏡報」(Daily Mirror) 一篇名為「Britain’s most valuable bum (英國最有價值的屁股)」 的報導中,就使用這 5 個字來表示「屁股,臀部」,其中 bum 是英國俚語,butt 為美國口語,而 buttocks 為複數型。這是英文寫作為避免重複 (repetition) 所採行的方法之一。不知你們有沒有發現,這 5 個字都是以 B 做開頭。